Mark Hammond
Mark Hammond is main protagonist in The Getaway. He is an ex-con and former member of the Collins Gang. In 1997, Mark was jailed for armed robbery and was sentenced to five years. He was released in 2002 and vowed to go straight and settle down with his wife and son. Unfortunatley, his wife was killed and his son kidnapped by the Bethnal Green Mob. Mark became a fugitive and was soon dragged into the criminal underworld that he had vowed to leave forever. Early Life Mark Hammond was born in 1962. Although highly intelligent at school, Mark decided to go for a life of crime. In the 1980's, he worked for Charlie Jolson, but in 1990, he defected to Nick Collins gang following an argument with Charlie's nephew Jake. Mark prefered working for Collins because he had new ideas and became good friends with Liam Spencer. Jolson vowed revenge on Mark Hammond. In 1993, Mark married Suzie and the following year they had a son called Alex. In 1997, Nick Collins entrusting Mark with a bank job along with Liam and several other gang members. Jolson found out about this and arranged with DCI McCormack to set up Mark. Mark was arrested by McCormack and was sentenced to five years in prison. 2002 In 2002, he was released from prison after a five year sentence for armed robbery. He decided to leave behind his life of crime and settled down with his wife Suzie and son Alex. Mark now ran a nightclub in London. One morning, two months after his release, things took a turn for the worst. Suzie who was walking Alex to school was confronted by gang memebers. After a brief struggle, Suzie was shot and Alex was dragged into a car. Mark came rushing out but was too late. He accidentally incriminated himself by touching the dropped murder weapon. A dying Suzie pleaded Mark to get their boy back, then dies on the pavement in Mark's arms. A passer-by saw this and screamed, thinking that Mark had killed Suzie. Instead of staying to help, Mark drove off and chased the gang car. Leaving the weapon behind at the scene and running off made the police believe that Mark was the culprit. Mark found the gang vehicle at a warehouse. Inside, he found his son in the hands of Charlie Jolson, the notorious boss of the Bethnal Green Mob. Before Mark could act, his was knocked out and dragged into a chair. Jolson gave Mark a proposition. Mark needed to work for Jolson and do everything he said or his son would die. The jobs that Charlie had Mark do for him include: burning down a bar which was operated by Mark's old gang, the Collins crew, breaking into an art gallery run by the Triads to steal a statue filled with heroin, breaking out his nephew Jake from a police convoy, starting a turf war between the Triads and the Yardies, attacking a police station to assassinate a corrupt police officer and stealing £300,000 of drug money from the Yardies. These actions angered the other gangs in London who wanted Mark dead and also drew police attention to him. In addition, the public believed that Mark went psycho by murdering his wife, kidnapping his son and then going on a crazy rampage through London. During his missions, Mark asked his former Collins gang comrade Liam Spencer to help him. Liam was initially annoyed at Mark because his attacked his old gang, but understood Jolson's control over him, so he agreed to help. After Mark killed the corrupt DCI McCormack, whom he had a grudge against, he met Yasmin who was involved in kidnapping his son. Yasmin knew where they are keeping Alex and understood that Mark would not have much luck in finding his son himself, so she requested that Mark would spare her to allow her to help him. Mark agreed, and the two worked hard to find Alex. However, Jake Jolson, who had a strong hatred of Mark, tried to double-cross him. During the fight, Mark killed Jake's friend Sparky. Jake tried to kill Mark, but was stopped by Charlie. Mark and Yasmin, the latter being caught in Charlie's mansion, were locked in the basement of Charlie's warehouse. Charlie Jolson phoned the other gang leaders and agreed to hand Mark over to them. After Charlie left with Harry and Jake, Mark and Yasmin sat in their cell feeling sorry for themselves. Luckily for them, Frank Carter had overheard Charlie's plan and offered to break out Mark and Yasmin as long as they agreed to work for him. Mark agreed but Yasmin did not trust Frank, believing that he was no better than Charlie Jolson. However, Frank broke them out and Mark and Yasmin drove over to Charlie's mansion to find Alex. Unfortunately, they were too late as Mark saw Harry, Charlie and another heavy driving off with Alex. Mark decided to phone Frank who explained that he was at the depot and was going to follow Jake to the Sol Vita. Mark and Yasmin drove off to the Sol Vita to rescue Alex and kill the Jolsons. Once they arrived, all the gangs were fighting each other on the ship. Mark fought his way through them and headed downstairs where he confronted Harry. They fought each other resulting in Mark killing Harry, avenging Suzie's murder. Mark eventually found Alex in the room where Charlie's bomb was. Yasmin was there also and they wanted to leave but were stopped by Frank who wanted Charlie Jolson. Just then, Nick Collins arrived with Liam who was holding a gun at Charlie's head. Nick ordered Frank and Mark to drop their weapons. The Triads and the Yardies appear and the three crime bosses wanted to kill Mark for ruining their businesses. Yasmin intervened which allowed for Mark to explain what had happened. The gangs understood and decide to spare Mark on the condition that he left London and never returned. Mark tried to get them to free Frank but they refuse. The final scene showed Mark, Yasmin and Alex walking free from the ship just as it exploded. Aftermath After escaping from the Sol Vita, Mark left London along with Yasmin and Alex. It is likely that they either moved to a quiet part of the country or even left the UK since Mark was so highly wanted. Although Frank Carter may have been able to clear Mark's name. Personality Although once a criminal, Mark vowed to leave behind his life of crime when he was released from prison. Mark is devoted to his family and is devastated when his wife is killed ans his son kidnapped. Mark is forced to carry out violent and criminal acts for the sake of his son's life. It is due to Mark's devotion to his son that he agreed to carry out the crimes that Charlie Jolson made him do. Although Mark showed remorse at having to shoot his former friends like the Collins Gang, some of his killings were in vengeance e.g. McCormack and Harry. Mark has a sarcastic side to him. This is evidenced when Harry was giving him instructions on how to kill McCormack. His violent behaviour led some people to believe he was a psycho, but he was nowhere near as crazy as his enemy Jake Jolson, who enjoyed killing people. Mission Appearances * The Frightener * Burning Bridges * Art Appreciation * Aiding and Abetting * Taxi for Mr Chai? * Out of the Frying Pan * Filthy Business * A Touch of Class * The Cowgirl and the Cash * A Cat in the Bag * The Prodigal Son * Aboard the Sol Vita * Escort Duty (cutscene only) * Meet Mark Hammond (cutscene only) * Showdown with Jake (cutscene only) * Land of Hope and Glory (cutscene only) Relationships Family Suzie Hammond Mark married Suzie in 1993. They loved each other and together had a son, Alex, in 1994. Their happiness was cut short in 1997 when Mark was given a five year sentence for armed robbery. Suzie, however, continued to raise Alex and occaisonally visited her husband in jail. On his release in October 2002, Suzie requested that her husband moved away from his criminal lifestyle. Mark obliged and started a new career running a nightclub. Unfortunatley, Suzie was confronted by the Bethnal Green Mob and was shot. The noise startled Mark, who came running to her aid. Suzie died in his arms and Mark was devastated at her death. He was determined to avenge Suzie's death and comply with her last request to rescue their son. Alex Hammond Mark loves his son Alex. He aims to be a good father figure towards his son. Mark had been in prison for most of Alex's life but once he was released, he put his criminal ways behind him for the sake of his son. Mark is furious when he sees his son being kidnapped in front of his own home. Mark reluctantly carries out many crimes for the safe returnal of his son. Mark and his son end up surviving the games events and are reunited in the climax of the game. Charlie Jolson Mark once worked for Charlie and it is possible they were friendly back then. However, Mark fell out with Charlie and decided to join the Collins gang. Several years later, Charlie has Mark's wife killed and his son kidnapped. Mark now hates Charlie and hates having to do his dirty work for him. While speaking to him, Mark never lost an opportunity to insult Charlie and even tried to shoot him. Charlie's heavies always stopped Mark from harming Charlie. By the time Mark stole Jamahl's money, he was becoming less tolerant of the Jolsons. Mark betrayed Charlie by sparing Yasmin and sending her to kill him, stealing his money and killing Sparky. Charlie was going to hand Mark over to the other gangs for his betryal but Mark was broken out of Charlie's cell by Frank Carter. Mark wanted revenge on Charlie as much as Frank did but wanted to get Alex to safety first. Mark did not get to kill Charlie but sealed Charlie's fate by telling the other gangs that Charlie was responsible for using Mark to harm them. Jake Jolson Mark and Jake were never on good terms with each other. This rivalry stems back to the days when Mark worked for the Collins Gang and antagonised Jake. Trivia * In The Getaway: Black Monday, the orange bin lorries found in the Shoreditch area have a little doll of Mark Hammond on their windscrean wipers. * In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, there is a bit character named after Mark Hammond called Marcus Hammond. He was a target to be assassinated by the games protagonist Tommy Vercetti. Category:The Getaway characters Category:Protagonists Category:Gangsters Category:Murderers